Angel to Demon
by Phoenix Dayze
Summary: Cloud stared, unflinching, into the emerald green gaze, the deep poison trying to swallow him whole. He wouldn't give in.  Not to the monster. Not to himself. That's what heroes did.


Angel to Demon  
By: Phoenix Dayze  
(Cloud/Sephiroth)  
PG-13

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy. This is a work of fiction.

Cloud stared, unflinching, into the emerald green gaze, the deep poison trying to swallow him whole. He clenched his fists at his sides, his nails digging into his palms. He wouldn't give in. Not to the monster before him. Not to himself. He would survive this and conquer the oppressing demon. That's what heroes did. They took a stand. They defeated evil, whatever the cost. And that's what Cloud would do. Even though to Cloud, this evil was too close to the heart, this cost too terrible to pay. Not even heroes should be asked to sacrifice so much. And so he stared, unmoving, letting the green penetrate his soul and eat him alive.

"You disappoint me, Cloud." The deep, melodious voice cut through his consciousness like the taunting blade. "Are you afraid?" So self-assured. So cruel. So unfamiliar. "Or are you foolish enough to still care?"

Cloud remained silent, letting the acidic words wash over him. _Foolish enough to care…_ Was that all he was now? A fool? A fool to believe. A fool to love. He felt his resolve slipping. He wanted to end this. Wanted to stop the spiral of suffering that enveloped them. But his memories still held him frozen, a prisoner to his own feelings, which were now nothing more than ashes in the wind, his dreams, his future, his heart all burned beyond recognition by the silver-haired devil who stood before him. He _was_ a fool.

A black-gloved hand rose to caress with insidious coldness against a pale cheek. "You haven't changed." Sephiroth chuckled, a low, sickening laugh. "You never did have the courage to take me on. You want to be the hero so badly. To save the world. But it's only a mask. The Cloud the world sees is a lie. But I know the truth."

Cloud's jaw twitched, and a slight tremble coursed through his body. He was shattering from the inside out, his beloved siren taking him apart piece by piece, and he was just standing there, letting himself be destroyed. He wanted to disappear. He wanted to save himself. He wanted to go back in time… A flash of still preserved memory lit in the forefront of his mind…

_Long silver hair flowed around his pale skin, caressing him with a sensual brushing he'd come to know well. Slender fingers traced his lips as green slitted eyes burned with unending passion. Rich, dark tones that slid against his heart. "So often- too often- the darkness tries to take me, but you… you always manage to save me."_

Cloud was ripped back to reality as he was yanked nearly off his feet, pulled up to the General's face. He practically snarled the soul-shattering words.

"You're a coward, Cloud. You can't save anyone. Everything, everyone, you've ever touched has fallen into utter ruin. And…" Cloud braced himself. "…death."

Pain ripped through Cloud's heart. How had he ever loved such an unholy monstrosity? What good had he ever seen in so black a creation? A tear slipped, unbidden, down Cloud's cheek. It didn't matter. Not at all. All that mattered was that he _had_. He had seen the good, buried deep within the demon's heart, and he had loved it- loved _him_- with all that he was. And now his beautiful, daunting angel was nothing more than a tainted abomination bent on destruction and suffering. Heaven no longer smiled. The earth mourned. And Cloud's heart was breaking.

Sephiroth dropped him roughly back to the ground, his green eyes wild with the incessant, invasive rage. "Why don't you speak?" He practically spat. "Aren't you at all sorry?"

Cloud raised his chin, his blue eyes flooded with silent agony. "I am." He answered simply.

Sephiroth growled, his sword slicing into the ground next to Cloud's hand. "Beg me for your life." He demanded. "Beg me and I _might_ be merciful."

"Sephiroth," Cloud began, his voice nearly broken, "I don't want your mercy." He swallowed thickly around the choking pain. "I want you." He flinched as Masamune moved with lightening speed. A thin line of blood welled up on his cheek.

"Foolish boy!" Sephiroth ground out. "You can't have me! No one can. That part of me is dead, sacrificed for the greater good. _You_ are all that's left, and soon that too will be gone." A cruel, icy smile twisted his once praising mouth.

Cloud rose determinedly to his feet. "If that is what you want…" Cloud reached out and took the end of that infamous blade in his hand and slowly raised it to press just above his heart. "…take it." All of the General's cold, aching words- the expression of wrathful hate- twirled over his consciousness. "You've killed me already."

For a moment, a gleam of understanding strayed across Sephiroth's eyes, then, it vanished into the draining void. His movement was swift and decisive. Cloud fell to the ground, clutching the seeping wound inflicted upon his neck, not deep enough to kill, but enough to leave a permanent physical reminder of what he'd lost. "No." Sephiroth's voice was chilled with irreparable viciousness. "Live and know how wretchedly you've failed me." And with that, he turned, leaving Cloud alone with his crippling anguish. So unholy, this unexpected gift of life. Death… would have been far kinder. 

The End.


End file.
